15 May 2016

Just another day - mystery material

Following up on galvanized stainless steel. I know it is available, but it is not used often, at least in construction. I found an item advertised to be stainless steel and galvanized. It didn't look like anything special enough to require exceptional corrosion resistance, so I asked for more information. This is the discussion:

Me: What type of stainless steel? How thick is the zinc coating?

Vendor: This is Galvanized Stainless steel. There is not a zinc coating.

Me: Galvanizing is the process of applying zinc to a substrate. If it's galvanized it has a zinc coating. How thick is it? If it is stainless steel, what type is it? 304, 316, ???

Vendor: I am sorry, but the specific information is not readily available at this time. I am researching your question and will follow up with an update within one business day. [Kudos to the vendor!]

Vendor: I called and spoke with the manufacturer regarding your questions. I asked them if they could tell me what kind of steel is used in the item, citing the examples you gave such as 304, 316, etc. I also asked if they could disclose how thick the zinc coating is. They informed me that they do not provide information regarding either of those questions. I do apologize for any inconvenience that poses for you.

03 May 2016

Just another day... corrosion-resistant fasteners

"1.    Where rough carpentry is exposed to weather, in ground contact, or in area of high relative humidity, provide fasteners with hot-dip zinc coating complying with ASTM A153/A153M of Type 304 stainless steel."

Galvanized stainless steel! I wonder what they want for below-grade fasteners. 
Maybe that "of" near the end of the sentence should have been "or".